King Charles I

The canvas has an old glue-paste lining and the original tacking edges have been removed. The painting has been strip-lined with canvas using PVA adhesive. The four-window wooden stretcher is not original and probably dates from the time of the lining. It is in good condition and all wedges are present and secured. There is a slight lump in the surface towards the bottom right. The horizontal seam in the original canvas is slightly raised but sound. The paint and ground layers have been generally flattened during the lining process, and there is wrinkling in the surface and squashed impasto, which was most probably caused at the same time. There are two horizontal parallel lines, 9 cm apart, impressed into the paint surface across the marble column and across the curtain to the left of the figure. There is some raised cupped paint, especially between the legs and around the feet but this is secure. The flesh paint has suffered abrasion and there is extensive restoration in the face; this has lightened and is a little disturbing visually. There is a dark band of restoration along the bottom edge. There is a fairly even layer of matt varnish; this has slightly discoloured but generally the appearance is reasonable.

Last date of tree ring: n/a

Observations

The painting is on a canvas support.

The medium weight, slightly open weave of the canvas can be seen clearly in x-ray (see x-ray mosaic 01). Uneven threads can be seen in the weave and the stitching that joins the two parts of the canvas is clearly visible across the centre. There are a few tears and paint losses. Lead bearing paint, such as the features and detail in the costume, can also be seen.

Infrared reflectography shows underdrawing carried out with black paint (see DIRR 01). The figure and the drapery are clearly defined but there do not appear to be any drawing lines in the face. Major changes were made at the drawing stage to the positions of the legs, arms and hands. There are changes in the position and angle of the legs. The leg on the left was moved to the right in the drawing stage. The leg on the right was moved significantly to the left; there are three outlines for this leg visible in infrared reflectography. The forearm and hand on the left were first drawn over the hose but were moved in order to rest the hand on the edge of the tablecloth. The right arm was drawn again in a lower position. The outlines and folds in the hose are clearly drawn with black paint. The outline of the green background curtain and some lines in the drapery on the upper right can also be seen. The painted out inscription at the lower left foreground: magnae Britan..? Princeps can be seen with infrared reflectography. Traces of the inscription above this, which was removed during the restoration in 1974, can also be seen, Prince Henry Son of King James the ....

Paint samples were taken for analysis in March 2012.

The canvas was prepared with a warm grey chalk and lead white ground with charcoal black, a little vermilion, red ochre and brown earth. Over this there is a layer containing chalk, vermilion and red ochre. Cross-sections of samples 1 and 5 show these layers clearly.

Paint
Green curtain
Sample 1: Cross-section from upper right edge shows the warm grey ground and the pinkish-orange priming. Above the priming, there is an opaque cool grey layer containing carbon black, lead white with a little red ochre, which creates an optical blue-grey. The upper layer is a translucent copper green glaze. Dispersion shows the copper green particles amongst a discoloured brownish glaze.

Sky
Sample 5: Cross-section from the lower part of the sky near the buildings shows the pinkish-orange priming, a pale grey-blue layer with smalt and lead white, with a thicker layer of smalt, azurite and lead white above. In dispersion both azurite and smalt were identified. It is possible that the azurite was a thin skim over the top of the smalt but it could not be seen in cross-section and it is therefore difficult to identify its place in the stratigraphy of the paint.

Landscape
Sample 4: Dispersion shows that the green paint consists of azurite mixed with a little lead white, yellow ochre and the occasional particle of red ochre.

Flesh
Sample 2: Dispersion of a scraping of green particles from the flesh identified green earth. There are also particles of lead white and red in the mixture.
Sample 3: Dispersion of a scraping of yellow particles from the flesh identified rod-shaped yellow ochre with the same appearance as that seen in the portrait of Ben Jonson (NPG 2752). Lead white and red from the flesh paint mixture are also present.

Garter medal ribbon
Sample 6: Dispersion shows that the blue/green paint consists predominantly of azurite.

Red costume
Sample 6: Dispersion shows that the red paint contains a mixture of crimson red lake and fine red ochre. It is possible that there is some vermilion present but the sample did not contain any.

Painting style and method
The painting technique is straightforward, with some passages such as the clouds blended wet-in-wet.

Preparation layers
There is a warm-toned grey ground containing chalk, lead white, charcoal black, vermilion, red ochre and brown earth. Over this, there is a pinkish orange layer containing chalk, vermilion and red ochre. The warm pale priming is visible in the reserve for the ruff and around the edge of the green drapery and sky. Underdrawing was carried out with black paint.

Paint
Flesh
The first layer for the face appears to have been blocked in at an early stage in the painting process. The priming was used as the mid-tone; for example, around the eyes. The flesh paint was applied thinly over the underlayer. The cool flesh tones are painted with a mixture of lead white, black, vermilion and large particles of green earth (see micro 06). The warm flesh tones contain a greater proportion of vermilion (see micro 07). There is a considerable amount of restoration in the flesh, which has lightened and is now mismatched. The lips are painted above the flesh paint. The paint mixture appears to contain red ochre with red lake glaze, with black and some opaque red used for the parting of the lips (see micro 05). The paint mixture in the palest passages in the hands contains quite a lot of green.

Eyes
The eyes were painted using the priming layer as the mid-tone. The dark grey irises are painted with black, lead white and red (see micro 01 and micro 02). The whitest part of the eyes is similar to the lightest part of the flesh paint with green added.

Hair
The hair was thinly painted above the flesh paint, with softly blended passages of shadow and highlight using a paint mixture containing yellow ochre, black, lead white and green. There is a greater proportion of lead white and yellow ochre in the highlights.

Doublet and hose
The priming can be seen at the edge of the costume, against the sky, where the sky paint was not painted up to the edge of the cloak. The sleeve and the cloak are painted with a mixture of red ochre, red lake and black. Remnants of a thin red lake glaze remain above this opaque layer. In some parts this glaze remains intact but in other parts it is heavily abraded. The fur edging of the cloak was created by using an opaque red mixture, with lead white and red lake applied in small, soft hatched brushstrokes, wet-in-wet, to the opaque red beneath. The embroidered detail on the doublet and upper hose was applied above the opaque red, with black and lead white, ochre mixed with black and red lake, and lead-tin yellow (see micro 20). These details appear to have been applied when the underlying red layer had fully dried. The folds in the hose and the shadow in the doublet were created with red lake mixed with black applied above the opaque layer.

Ruff
The reserve left for the ruff is clearly visible with surface examination (see micro 03). The priming layer acts as the mid-tone. The grey underlayer for the green curtain and the opaque red layer for the doublet were brushed up to the edge of the reserve (see micro 04). A very thin brown/grey layer was applied over the reserve, and the lace detail was applied over it, with fine soft brushstrokes. The lace is painted with lead white, some black and a small amount of green.

Order of the Garter
The Garter ribbon was painted with a mixture of azurite with lead white and a little red, and was applied directly over the red costume (see micro 09 and micro 10). The gold parts of the Garter medal were painted with lead-tin yellow and yellow ochre with black and some red, with white highlights applied above (see micro 11).

Lower hose and garter
The garter was painted above the red ochre of the lower hose with azurite. The lettering is painted with lead-tin yellow and yellow ochre (see micro 17). Red lake was used in the shadows.

Background curtain
The green curtain has a dark grey opaque underlayer with a mixture of black, white and a very small amount of red. Above this, a layer of copper green glaze was applied with the highlights for the folds above. Highlights were painted with lead-tin yellow and copper green glaze (see micro 08).

Sky and landscape
The sky was painted before the figure and the background drapery. The clouds were painted wet-in-wet into the sky beneath. The paint in the upper sky is a mixture of smalt and lead white. The original blue has discoloured, although blue particles are clearly visible with microscopy. Some red lake with added black can also be seen. Quite a lot of old varnish residues remain on the paint surface. The sky has been heavily restored with a pale cool blue (see micro 13). The highlights in the clouds are painted with lead white, with vermilion and some yellow ochre. The paint for the greenish lower part of the sky contains azurite with red, black and white (see micro 15).

The buildings are thinly painted over the sky and they are now quite abraded. The red ochre colour used for the buildings was thinly painted down across the landscape and the floor. The trees and figure were then painted over this layer. The green in the foliage is a mixture of azurite, green earth (as in the flesh), black, lead white, yellow ochre, red lead and possibly some red lake. The same mixture was used for the palest green but with a greater proportion of yellow ochre.

Foreground
The red ochre for the buildings appears to have been thinly applied beneath the grey foreground. The grey paint is a mixture of charcoal black, lead white, yellow ochre and a little red. The grey was applied very thinly in many areas, and the warm underlayer can be seen beneath.

Tablecloth
There appears to be a thin red ochre layer beneath the upper layer, which is painted with copper green glaze. In some areas lead white was added, but it seems very abraded and possibly even scraped. There are white areas where the glaze appears to have degraded and fractured, creating a white appearance. The gold embroidered border of the table cloth, with red (see micro 18) and white roses, is painted with yellow ochre with lead-tin yellow highlights.

Inscriptions
In the lower left foreground, an inscription has been painted out (see micro 22 and micro 23). This can be seen more clearly with infrared reflectography (see Infrared reflectography) : magnae Britan..? Princeps

Another inscription was removed during restoration in 1974: Prince Henry Son of King James the ...

Order of construction
- Warm grey ground
- Pinkish-orange priming
- Underdrawing in black paint
- Underlayers applied for the face, the costume and the green curtain
- Sky painted before figure and background drapery
- Figure painted
- Drapery and tablecloth
- Buildings are painted over the sky paint
- Foreground

Pigments
Azurite, smalt, black, lead white, lead-tin yellow, earth colours, green earth, yellow ochre, red ochre, red lake,

Changes in composition/pentimenti
The free, fluid underdrawing shows how the composition developed. The leg on the left was moved further right, and the leg on the right was moved significantly to the left. The forearm and hand on the left were initially drawn over the hose, but were moved to rest the hand on the edge of the tablecloth. The hand on the right was also repositioned.

Restoration observations
An early inscription in the lower-left corner has been painted over. A later inscription, identifying the sitter as Henry, Prince of Wales, was removed during treatment in 1974.

Examination with ultra violet light shows fairly extensive light areas of fluorescence where areas of old varnishes remain after varnish removal (see UV 01). It is evident that the varnish was removed in rectangular sections. Areas of most recent restoration appear dark and are especially noticeable where there is extensive restoration in the face and hands.

Frame date: Late 19th / early 20th century.